IPR Just Got Stricter: What the New PTAB Rule Means—and Why Page Vault Already Has You Covered
Last Updated August 2025
TL;DR
- Deadline alert: Inter Partes Review (IPR) petitions filed on or after Sept 1, 2025 must pin-cite every single claim element to a prior-art patent or printed publication—no more plug-and-play with Applicant Admitted Prior Art (AAPA), expert testimony, or general knowledge.
- Bigger evidence load: With AAPA off-limits for elements, petitioners will lean harder on non-patent literature (NPL)—web manuals, standards, GitHub docs—raising the stakes on public-accessibility and authenticity fights.
- Good news: Page Vault already delivers authenticated, paginated, exhibit-ready captures with URL, timestamp, SHA-256 hash, and optional affidavits—exactly what the new rule demands.
What’s Changed at the UPTO—and Why It Matters
On July 31, 2025, the USPTO issued a three-page memo instructing the PTAB to stop waiving and start enforcing Rule 42.104(b)(4). For petitions filed after September 1, every claim limitation must be mapped to a pinpoint location in a printed publication or patent. Anything else—including AAPA—can no longer supply a missing element (though it can still explain motivation to combine). The Office says the bright-line approach aligns PTAB practice with the Federal Circuit’s recent Shockwave decision and will cut down on remands.
See more
